Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek test positive for coronavirus
Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and his son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, announced in separate tweets on Saturday that they have tested positive for Covid-19 and have been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai with “mild symptoms”.
Both of them are undergoing treatment at Nanavati Hospital, with an official confirming that they had “facilitated their tests” and that the two are “stable”. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said all their other family members have tested negative in rapid antigen tests. The results of the RT-PCR tests are awaited, he said.
“I have tested CoviD positive .. shifted to Hospital .. hospital informing authorities .. family and staff undergone tests, results awaited .. All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested!” Amitabh Bachchan, 77, posted.
About an hour later, near midnight, Abhishek, 44, posted: “Earlier today both my father and I tested positive for COVID 19. Both of us having mild symptoms have been admitted to hospital. We have informed all the required authorities and our family and staff are all being tested. I request all to stay calm and not panic. Thank you.”
Hospital officials said Amitabh Bachchan arrived first for a preliminary check-up after developing symptoms. “After he tested positive, he was advised admission. He went home and returned for hospitalisation by 10 pm. The hospital informed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) after his reports came positive,” said an official.
A BMC official said the corporation “will send a team tomorrow to disinfect their house and look for high-risk contacts”.
Apart from a number of actors and fans, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Ram Vilas Paswan and Prakash Javadekar wished a “speedy recovery” to Amitabh Bachchan, who has battled health issues before. In 2012, he recovered from tuberculosis, and later suffered from Hepatitis B with compromised liver functioning.
The government had banked on the star’s appeal to publicise several of its initiatives, including a promotional video on the Aarogya Setu app against the stigmatisation of Covid patients.
Amitabh Bachchan has a number of film projects lined up, while Abhishek features in a web series that was released recently.
At the heart of the Covid outbreak in India, Mumbai has so far recorded 91,745 cases and 5,244 deaths. On Saturday, the city recorded 1,284 cases and 39 deaths.
